#sedaily 161228
(TRANS ) 161228 — interview with sedaily (part two)
translated byfy!wdh+originally fromsedaily by lee hana
please do not repost translations on tumblr and always credit page 712, or fywdh when posting elsewhere. please obtain permission before translating into other languages.
click here for an alternate version with accompanying images.
To Woo Dohwan, 2016 was, as they call it a ‘run of good luck [lucky streak]’. If we were to borrow his [Woo Dohwan’s] words, 2016 was also a run of ‘miracles’. The film 'Master’ hit cinemas around the time of the ending of KBS drama 'The Man Living in Our House’, allowing him to continue the interest he gained from the public. Those who saw Woo Dohwan for the first time through the film 'Master’ showed their curiosity by looking up his [Woo Dohwan’s] name on portal sites as soon as they left the cinemas. In actuality, the related search terms for 'Master’ include 'the person Mother Kim (Jin Kyung) killed’, 'Mother Kim’s man’ etc showing the immense amount of interest towards the actor Woo Dohwan.
“At first I couldn’t believe that I had been cast for this movie. Even when I was standing alongside Lee Byeonghun, Kang Dongwon, and Kim Woobin sunbaenim during the vip screening, I still wondered if I was really standing there. I really don’t think there’s any other way of expressing it but saying that I was lucky. To me, it’s a production I’m really thankful for.“
Woo Dohwan played the role of 'Snapback’ who carried out Lee Byeonghun’s missions in the movie 'Master’ which followed the story of the largest case of fraud since the founding of the country. It painted the cat-and-mouse chase of a rare con artist, the brain behind the operation, and the intellectual special forces team that is chasing them. Like in 'The Man Living in Our House’, he stole the attention of the people and appeared as a 'crazy presence’.
In particular, the fact that he played the 'villain’ in consecutive productions caught our attention. Wouldn’t he be worried that he might be stuck with a villainous image [stuck playing villain roles]. Before I even finished the question, Woo Dohwan asserted that "I’ve never thought about that”. He explained that because even villains have their own circumstances [story], [he considers] the roles of 'Kim Wansik’ and 'Snapback’ are totally different [from one other].
“In comparison to Wansik, Snapback has no sense of fear. He’s more thorough and level-headed. Wansik, on the other hand is a 'humane’ villain.”
On this day during the interview, there was talk about the journal that he has been writing in since he turned 20. Even though he has noted the precious memories that he doesn’t want to forget, as well as his appreciation for everyday happenings, the part that takes up the largest portion [of his journal] is, of course, the part about 'acting’. His journal is completely full of his countless worries about what he has to do in order to become a better actor. From disappointment towards his own acting, to words [messages] of support [sent] to him, he has tried hard not to lose [forget] the feelings of each moment.
Whenever he comes back from an audition, he even makes note of the comments made by the directors. It is noted in his journal that the film 'Master’ was ’[his performance was] the worst audition of my life’. It was an audition that left such regret to the point where even his managers, who know about his usual personality that is overflowing with self-confidence, asked "What on earth happened for you to be saying something with such little confidence?”. However contrary to his concerns, he ended up joining 'Master’. Depending on how you look at it, you could say that it was a given for him to describe it as a 'miracle’.
Woo Dohwan said “because it was my first time [working on] a film of such big scale and importance, to me everything was a continuous learning process”. He was able to learn many things as an actor, including the way of coping on set, the way to deal with [treat] senior actors, and even the attitude to approach acting.
“There were days that I would be finished with filming in 30 minutes. But I would still remain on set and keep an eye on the filming. There was a lot to learn by just watching the sunbaenims. I wondered about how 'this film is going to end someday… when else will I be able to learn from a set like this’. I stayed on set with the thought that 'now is my chance’. I think that’s why it was more fun.”
Seeing Woo Dohwan say that he didn’t want to rest for even a day because going on set was so much fun, hinted as to just how much greed he has as an actor towards acting. Even though it might be a given for a rookie actor, who has more things to come, to have a greed for acting, you could feel that he has a strong [firm] character [nature] as an actor inside of him that went beyond that [just greed].
Before Woo Dohwan made his official decision to become an actor when he was in his senior year of high school, he [Woo Dohwan] said that the influence of his father, who was involved in theatre when he was younger, played a big role. The words of his father who said “it feels like you [Woo Dohwan] are making my [his father’s] dream come true on my behalf” became a big source of strength, as well as a driving force for him to act.
While relaying his aspirations that he will do the best of his power no matter what role he is given, he, who said that he wants to try all different genres, voiced his wish to try a school themed or youth centric production before it’s too late.
“In 'Who Are You - School 2015” Yook Sungjae was really charming when he played the extremely picky rebellious child but was fully devoted when it came to that one girl. I want to try that kind of 'human-like’ [relatable] and dimensional character as well.”
If this year was the year that marked his beginning as an actor, Woo Dohwan wants next year to become a year where he does not lose the start [he made this year]. Woo Dohwan said that he has asked himself the question 'What kind of actor do I want to become?’ countless times. And the answer that he has come to after all that deliberation is that he wants to become 'an actor who is like a friend’.
Woo Dohwan relayed that “I want people to be able to watch me [his acting] comfortably, without any sense of objection” and added that “While showing off acting [skills] that can make people laugh when I laugh, and cry when I cry, I want to become an actor who people can approach easily.”
Is there a greater compliment than the word 'presence’ ['impression’] to an actor who has just started acting? Through the two productions 'The Man Living in Our House’ and 'Master’, Woo Dohwan has made a lot of people curious as to what kind of acting he will be showing off in the future. 2016 marks the beginning of the history of a great actor.
(TRANS ) 161228 — interview with sedaily (part one)
translated byfy!wdh+originally fromsedaily by lee hana
please do not repost translations on tumblr and always credit page 712, or fywdh when posting elsewhere. please obtain permission before translating into other languages.
click here for an alternate version with accompanying images.
It seems like the line “it looks pretty when you look closer, and looks lovely when you look longer” from that one poem does not apply to rookie actor Woo Dohwan. He stood out [even] without having to look closely, and made a mark [impression] without having to appear [on screen] for a long time.
Actor Woo Dohwan completed his first television drama through the recently finished KBS drama ‘The Man Living in Our House’. 'The Man Living in Our House’ told the romantic story between stewardess Hong Nari (Soo Ae) who lived two lives, and her newfound stepfather Go Nangil (Kim Youngkwang) who is younger than her. In the drama, Woo Dohwan played the role of Kim Wansik, who constantly stood [on the] opposing [side to] Go Nangil, creating tension [in the drama].
However, unlike the unusual [special] charisma and look in his eye that he showed in the drama, the Woo Dohwan we met in person was exactly that of a fresh and bright “25 year old, young man”. Woo Dohwan mentioned the difference in his personality from his character by saying “Wansik is extremely cold and feisty, but me, on the other hand, am bright [happy] in everything I do” and“that’s why I was more attracted [pulled towards] to him [the character of Wansik]. I wanted to express things [feelings/expressions] that I didn’t have”.
“The character of Wansik had two sides which coexisted in him - he seems light [in presence] but is heavy, and is heavy but light at the same time. Looking at this character who changes with each situation, made me think ‘what is this kid?’. That’s what made him more appealing. I played the character [of Wansik] with the thought that it would be nice if viewers could feel the same way.”
Just like how Woo Dohwan mentioned, the character of Kim Wansik was both sharp [in personality] but miserable at the same time. He was a person who had complicated feelings making him put Go Nangil into crisis [dangerous] situations while offering his help [as well]. That’s why Woo Dohwan had to go through a process of a lot of thinking [worrying] before he could make [complete] the character. “Wansik felt an extreme amount of jealousy towards Nangil” Woo Dohwan started “But the only family Wansik had was Nangil. In order to express the love-hate relationship where Wansik worries about Nangil despite hating him, I thought about it a lot.”
Continuing on, he explained "In reality, Wansik is someone who is weak against the strong, and strong against the weak. Despite raising his fists at Nangil, he never laid a single punch on him. In the drama, I never had a scene where I hit anyone. Depending on how you look at it, I think that was the kind of character Wansik was. I was thankful that some people took pity on Wansik because of that. That was part of what I wanted to show [to the audience]”.
It wasn’t just the character on the script, but Woo Dohwan even worried about the projection of his voice. His voice which we heard in person was much lower and heavier than his voice in the drama.
“My voice is originally on the lower side, so I thought that there would be a limit to the character of Wansik if I expressed him through this tone. That’s why I had a lot of concerns regarding that aspect. Of course acting begins within me, but it made me think that the tone of my voice right now [back then] was Woo Dohwan and not Wansik."
Despite him not having participated in a lot of productions up until now, and because he had only experienced the genre of films, 'The Man Living in Our House’ was particularly meaningful to him. Woo Dohwan, who would watch the live broadcast of 'The Man Living in Our House’ if his schedules allowed it [didn’t overlapping with other filming schedules], said that filming for the drama was so fun and fascinating that time flew right by him. He said that through this opportunity in particular, he was able to experience with his whole body the difference between films and dramas.
“Since we work together for a long time with films, the period of time I have to prepare myself is longer as well. In contrast, the time we work together on dramas is short. There are times when we’re basically filming in real time. That was a help to me. I like to think being able to monitor [receive feedback] on my acting right away was, in a way, an opportunity for me to grow [develop] a little more."
Woo Dohwan said that the nervousness that came with his first drama only lasted a moment, and that the atmosphere on set played a large role in the reason behind how he was able to break down [and understand] a character at such speed as he does now. He grew closer to the actors around his age including mood maker Kim Youngkwang, along with Soo Ae, Ji Yoonho, Lee Kangmin, and Jeong Jihwan etc creating a family-like atmosphere [amongst them]. Because of that fact, rather than thinking that filming was tough [or that he was tired], they encouraged each other even more with the thought that they were coming together and creating a production as a family.
"In order to help new actors like me relax before filming, the director would always come up and talk to me first. He would for my opinion on acting, which made it possible for my to [carry out his acting] act extremely comfortably. The staff members, Kim Youngkwang, and Soo Ae sunbaenim all gave me a lot of help. They never said anything negative, and helped me work even harder by telling me that I was doing a good job."
In particular, the 'bromance chemistry’ that he showed with Kim Youngkwang was enough to grab the interest [attention] of many viewers. In reply to a question regarding their chemistry, Woo Dohwan instead replied with his thanks towards sunbae actor Kim Youngkwang. Woo Dohwan mentioned that "Youngkwang hyung was very considerate towards me and complimented me a lot” and that “I was really thankful that he would call me over before we went into filming saying 'Wansik-ah, let’s go over our lines together’. He’s really a great sunbaenim and hyung”.
A lot of people would agree that this is one of Woo Dohwan’s strengths. The fact that he has a face that has both elements of 'Good’ and 'Evil’. Woo Dohwan positively reviewed his performance saying that his face [which has elements of both] helped him to express the character of Kim Wansik. People on set told him that he suited the genre of noir, and even called Woo Dohwan 'genre-style face’. [Woo Dohwan said that] Staff members actually even greeted Woo Dohwan by saying "noir Wansik is here?”.
Woo Dohwan’s impact was great [strong] despite his roles being relatively small [screen time wise], evident through the creation of a fancafe before his drama even finished. In addition, his fans actively gave him strength by sending him a coffee truck to the filming set. Just like Woo Dohwan’s words of “at first I was extremely puzzled [confused]”, even though this [acting] wasn’t something he started in order to gain popularity, the interest and love of other’s became the another motivator for him to [continue] act.
He mentioned them [his fans] saying “I think they are people who make me think that I should work even harder at acting going forward” and once again emphasized his gratefulness by saying “Thank you and thank you once again. I don’t think there’s another word that can contain as much as that word.”
